Frédéric Lanovsky

Frédéric Lanovsky’s world is colourful, oversized and so joyful that it is difficult to get away from it. You probably have seen these 3.5 metre high “tourists”, these coloured “bride and groom” with a resin body and a child’s soul. They are funny and light, have disproportionate arms and a happy smile. So, how does Frédéric Lanovsky manage to take us into his coloured world, where fancy has taken over from reality?

It all started in Cannes where he was born in April 1965. Frédéric was attracted to drawing. He studied at the School of Fine Arts before going to Paris where he spent some years in fashion. He became a colourist , while continuing to draw and making small (20 to 30 cm high) sculptures made of wire frames covered in clay and painted with gouache.
Then, the desire to see his art in a different way and to make big, very big figures, brought him back south in 1992.
“I then started working with welded iron; my figures are made of resin and can be as high as 3.5 metres, like “Gisèle”, “Les touristes”, “Marie la Danseuse” and “L’oiseau (The bird)”.
Following that first stage, Frédéric turned towards bas-reliefs animated either by an engine or by cranks. These moving sculptures enabled the artist to do further research in transparency. “I wanted my work to be translucent, so that the wire mesh, fibreglass, neon and colours could be seen; the work ‘Les douze saints (The twelve saints)’ was conceived in accordance with this principle.”

Then Frédéric, who was interested in light, embarked upon a series of very sober wall lights before coming back to life-size figures (1.75) such as “Valentine”, “L’homme fort (The strong man)”and “Les mariés (The bride and groom)”.
“I need three weeks to complete a figure, but while it’s drying I sometimes make trophy heads like those of butcher’s shops in the old days.”

Frédéric Lanovsky has been exhibiting in the region since 1994.

Frédéric Lanovsky prefers to imagine his own universe. “I like giving people happiness and I often exhibit in places far away from art, like the Broussailles hospital for example. I like having a cultural exchange in the street or in shops with people who would not necessarily visit a gallery or a museum...”